THE RESEARCH ONION APPLIED: A LAYERED METHODOLOGY FOR A DOCTORAL CASE-STUDY PROGRAM
This article presents a hands‑on use of the Research Onion and argues that it is more than a pedagogical sketch: it is a decision grammar for research design. I first condense the Onion’s layers – research philosophy, theory‑building approach, method choice, strategy, time horizon, and techniques – into an actionable map. I then show, step by step, how these choices were implemented in a doctoral study that examines recurring management‑control patterns in firms located in Adizes’ Prime lifecycle stage. Throughout, the emphasis is on coherence: each layer must make sense on its own and, crucially, align with the others. The contribution is twofold. Substantively, the paper documents a replicable decision pathway that yields a defensible qualitative multi‑case design with abductive reasoning, cross‑sectional timing and interview/document‑based. Methodologically, the article demonstrates how explicit assumptions and quality safeguards (credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability) can be integrated as design features rather than after‑the‑fact justifications. The result is a transparent blueprint that other scholars can adapt to related management and accounting questions while preserving sensitivity to context and use‑in‑practice.
XIII. ÉVFOLYAM 2025. SPECIAL ISSUES 2. 72-74
DOI: 10.24387/CI.SI.2025.2.12
